Huntress
by HYpatheticallySPEAKING
Summary: Joining the hunters was the biggest decision of my life. What was leaving, in the grand scheme of everything? (why is Phoebe not a character to select?) One-shot.


**Here's my first one-shot. Please tell me if there's OOC or anything that breaks canon. **

My father has always been a jerk. My aunt has always been annoying. But they've always asked me to choose between them. I was _perfectly fine_ being a happy medium, but nooo, they had to get into one of their usual fights, on the solstice, no less, and I was stuck in the middle.

I swear sometimes it made me just want to run away. But then they'd get their uncle to find me again.

On my sixteenth birthday, I had enough. By the way, this was back in the seventeen hundreds, so that was actually an old age to join up. I finally made my choice- I sided with the hunters. Every single boy that had tried for my hand was nothing more than a jerk after my mom's money or land. At least she could still have a future with my stepfather and her young stepson… But forcing me to marry a boy, rather, a _man_, whom I had barely met before in my life was too much for me to bear. I ran away to my aunt and begged her to let me join the hunt.

I was welcomed into the hunters with warm greetings. Nobody commented on my age- they just seemed to accept my presence. And for that time, I was finally at peace with myself. Nobody could tell me what to do and I was in control of my own destiny.

With her blessing, I was ready to face the world.

My first friend, much to my surprise, was Zoë Nightshade. The regal girl _did_ have a heart beneath her cold exterior. It was just difficult for most people to find. We became close friends, and right before she was promoted to being lieutenant, she told me who her father was. And likewise, I told her mine.

We both knew that we only truly belonged here. A daughter of Apollo and a daughter of Atlas… Where else would we be able to forge such a bizarre friendship? We spent years together with the hunters, recruiting other girls to join, fighting in battle after battle, and searching for rare monsters. I lost so many sisters during the world wars. The fifteen whom I had joined were cut down to half. Zoë died on the quest with Thalia, Grover and Bianca. Before she had left, Zoë had confided in me that she knew it was her time. She regretted having to leave me at camp, but the centaur blood on that t-shirt left me crippled for a week. I know that Bianca was ahead of her time as well. I just wish that she didn't have to depart from this world so soon. There was so much she could have done. I was the eldest, but I never wanted the position of lieutenant. Thalia received the title, and I was proud to serve under her guidance. Then there was the Titan War, and I was one of two who remained. My last remaining original sister left the hunters by breaking her oath, and I was forced to turn a blind eye to her. Then Gaea struck, and we lost so many more hunters as we fought against her army.

I found it difficult to put my trust in anyone anymore. Sure, the gods are omnipotent. They watch us all and can see our every action. I just wanted to find a place where I belonged. But as time moved on, I felt as though I no longer was a hunter.

One day when my father stopped by to antagonize the rest of the hunters, I stared there, glaring at him. It took him ten minutes to notice my presence and then five more to remember who I was. I was angered by him, my father.

"You're Elizabeth's daughter, aren't you?" he said, his attention finally away from the others.

"Two hundred and thirty-five years." My voice was caustically bitter. "It's nice to see you again. Father." I curtsied, and there was a smile on my face that had yet to reach my eyes.

"Ph-"

"_Don't _say my name. Please don't." I turned away, and stalked towards Lady Artemis' tent. I went inside, ducking under pelts and quivers that were attached to the ceiling. "Lady Artemis?" I called quietly into the darkness of the tent.

"Yes, my huntress?" She appeared before me as a grown woman, not her usual form of a thirteen-year-old girl.

"Is there a way I can…" My voice lowered to barely a whisper. "…leave the hunters without age catching up to me?" _Or without breaking my pledge?_

There was a sad smile on her face. "I had always known you would ask, and time was getting shorter, especially after Natalie left. Yes, I can revoke your immortality and my blessing, but you can never return to being a hunter. You will never again get to live with our sisters-in-arms. Are you sure that is what you want?"

I nodded silently, "I feel as though I could do more if I am no longer a hunter, but you are still Lady Artemis, my aunt who saved me in more ways than one." I closed my eyes and let a tear cascade down my face. "There is no way for me to repay you, but I will miss your leadership. I just wish to find a place where my life does not have to end in bloodshed."

Much to my surprise, there was understanding in her voice. "I will miss you, my eldest huntress." She waved her hand in front of me, and I could feel the glow of the moon fading from my skin. The eternal youth that was given to me was no longer there. "You must leave now."

I nodded, "Thank you, milady."

I was free once more. Although I knew that I would age and die, I felt at peace. It was the same peace that had filled me when I had first joined the hunters.

And without that blessing, I went out to face the world once more.

**It's hard to find a hunter fic where the huntress leaves, so I decided to write this. Tell me what you think, please, and I don't mind flames.**


End file.
